flat subfloors

Today I learned how to run a 225 lb (102 kg) floor grinder. I also learned how to get it out of the back of a pickup truck.

Running the thing wasn't that hard. You pretty much turn it on and push it around like an incredibly huge vacuum cleaner, except it makes dust instead of sucking it up. What you do to keep the dust all contained is have somebody standing by with a garden hose to keep the floor wet so you end up making mud instead of dust. Your assistant is also in charge of scooping the mud off the floor every so often and dumping it in a bucket.

My living room floor has a dried mud puddle in it.

And if you needed to know how to get a 225 lb grinder out of the back of a pickup truck, the easy way is to have an extra guy around to help your husband lift it down. The hard way involves staring at the contents of your garage until you decide to potentially sacrifice that grungy aluminum ladder you bought at a garage sale for $5. Then it's still a bit of a struggle, but nothing got crunched or hurt.

There is as yet no word on how you get the grinder back in the pickup truck.